Today was pretty chilly.  Last night there was some sleet and freezing rain so schools were postponed until late morning.  It was a good day to do some laundry and have a good BBQ lunch at the original Willie's in Alamo.  Yummy food!

After lunch I figured a drive was the best bet so headed east and south to Brownsville.  There had been enough moisture that staying on paved roads was prudent so I headed towards Port Isabel.  At a boat ramp I found a number of species I'd missed so far plus a few others like Reddish Egret that are always fun to see.

Black Skimmers (one of my favorite birds) with Willets

Marbled Godwits (with Willets)

Spotted Sandpiper

I was hoping to maybe find an Aplomado Falcon along this road but no joy.  The wind was picking up as was the drizzle.  It was just one of those days if you were home you would stay inside but I'm in South Texas for crying out loud.  So it was on to South Padre Island in hopes of finding something offshore like a Northern Gannet.  Nope, but it was fun.

Surf's Up

I did find a few birds to photograph in the parking lots and along the beach.  Sanderlings really don't care how ferocious the breakers are.

Sanderling

Semipalmated Plover

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Royal Tern

Thanks to Loren & Babs Padelford, I learned about this great place to stay while birding the Rio Grande Valley.  It is an island of native vegetation in a sea of development - homes, RV parks, and the like.  Unfortunately I could only get the place for a week.  When I checked in an walked around a bit I knew it was a winner.

The place is a bit on the eclectic side but in a good way.  The main house is built around a tree which still serves as support for the roof.  It has three bedrooms and two baths and is really very nice for a larger group.  I enjoyed my neighbors.  Gene said he taught at Iowa State Teachers College many years ago.  I told him that dated him!

I should have taken more photos from here but oh well.  These are all from the patio where I had coffee each morning.

Clay-colored Thrush (there was a pair)

Javelinas

Gray Fox

Across the road from El Rocio is the Veteran's Cemetery.  A flock of about 40 Long-billed Curlews have found the lawns to their liking for a winter home.

Today I wanted to get back and bird the tropical forest area at Estero Llano Grande.  The last time I did this was after my broken leg and it was brutal. Today there were no rare birds but it was fun. Tropical forest birds fed at the many oranges and peanut butter feeding stations. 
Plain Chachalaca

Great Kiskadee

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Long-billed Thrasher

I managed to find a sleeping Paraque in the woods.

Waterbirds were also in evidence and I did manage to find a very few dragonflies.  The butterflies are incredible and I need to learn them. This Mexican Bluewing is a stunner even though my photography skills were lacking.

Sora

Common Gallinule

To end a great day I managed to find the staging area for Green Parakeets heading into their nighttime roost - the local K-Mart parking lot. What noise!

It was the day to head up river and bird one of my favorite parts of the Valley. Thankfully the feeding operation at Salineno has started up again and it was great fun just hanging out at the feeders.  It was orioles, orioles, orioles! The most common species is Altamira with both an adult and juvenile shown here.

The prize for this part of the Rio Grande, however, is the Audubon's Oriole.

Falcon State Park was a bit of a disappointment for photography since there was no feeding operation going on this year. I did manage to get off a shot of a Roadrunner trying to hide from me in the grasses and a javelina crossing the road.

The cold front arrived and for this far south it was really, really cold! The wind drove right through my fleece and I never expected to need to wear gloves while birding here. Although it was too cold to wander around the ponds, a sheltered area of the wooded area produced five warbler species - Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, Black-and-White, Wilson's, and the prize - Tropical Parula.  One bird that seems to "weather the weather" pretty well is the Green Jay.

What a fun day meeting up with old friend Jim and spending the morning birding Estero Llano Grande State Park. It was a beautiful morning and we found a few birds but no dragonflies yet. This Great Egret cracked us up as he stood by the depth marker.

This Eastern Screech Owl was sound asleep and oblivious to all the birders looking at it.

I left home on January 19th and headed south as far as Waco, Texas for the night. The next morning it was another day of hard driving to South Padre Island for the night.  The plan was to bird the World Birding Center the next morning before heading inland, but the wind was howling and my car was getting sandblasted. Instead of trying to walk in that wind I simply drove out on some flats overlooking the bay and birded from the car. These Royal Terns were huddled together facing the wind.

The wind was still raging at Laguna Atascosa NWR but I did manage to snap a few photos from the bird blind. This Olive Sparrow was the first of many Valley specialties.

I've seen baby birds all of my life but have seldom seen the miracle of them actually leaving the nest.  The only other time I can recall was when on a Big Day my friends and I serendipitously pulled up to a pond just as tiny fluff balls of Wood Ducks jumped from the box.  That changed this summer when on June 13th I went to my deck to light the grill and spooked the entire family of five baby Eastern Phoebes from their nest.  They all took off at once up and over the roof and I hope managed to survive.  I was going to use a different tact with the second brood.

Brood 1

Just when I thought I had regained use of my deck for the summer, a new clutch of eggs was laid and the routine started all over again.  SOP became flush mom from nest to light the grill; flush mom again to put food on grill; flush mom again to turn food; flush for the fourth time to remove food and turn off gas; and then one final flush to close and cover everything. This became a way of life nearly every evening through hatching and early development. For the past several days as the kids grew larger I have forgone using the deck at all in hopes of not replicating the earlier experience. Yesterday the largest chick took one quick flight to the grill and just as quickly returned to the nest. All were still in place this morning but I had the feeling this might just be the day for the real adventure for at least that kid so I made frequent visits to the back door to check.

The nest was really getting crowded with baby phoebes exploding over the edges. My photos of this neat event aren't the greatest since they were taken through glass and screen, but they do document a really cool experience!

Today's The Day

I made one of my checks on the nest and it looked a bit less crowded.  Was that blur I saw go by the window just now a parent or a baby?  Sure enough, the first brave soul had made it to the deck railing and was sitting there bobbing its short little tail like all good phoebes do as well as preening the flight feathers a bit.

First Brave Soul

While Baby #1 began trying to make sense of this new adventure, one parent paid particular close attention, standing guard and bringing an occasional tasty morsel.  A House Wren appeared on the deck floor and the parent immediately chased it away.

Lunch on the Ledge

As I watched this spectacle and blur went by the window.  Baby #2 had just tried the same trick but missed the railing.  It landed in the weeds below the window and I hoped it would be OK.  In a couple of minutes there was a flurry of small wings as it made its way to some brush a few feet further back in the jungle.  It was immediately attended to by a parent and soon joined by Baby #1.

To The Jungle

So now, would the other two kids make the break today as well?  I looked out the door and they almost looked perplexed at having so much room.

Where Did They Go?

At last Baby #3 got the courage to at least take the first step.

Scary Out Here

It exercised its wings a bit and when I went to the window to check on the others made the great escape.  It was soon followed by the last kid.  In 17 short minutes they had all flown the coop.

Last One Out

The parents are super busy right now trying to keep up with four kids and their new-found freedom. It's almost mind-boggling to think that in the last seven weeks nine baby phoebes have left my porch light.  Tonight I think I'll grill out, but after all my complaining it will probably be a little bittersweet to look up at that empty nest.  Be well my little phoebe friends!

The Deck Is Mine Again!

After helping my uncle celebrate his 80th birthday, I took a day off hoping to find some of the special birds of Southeast Iowa.  After getting a room at historic Hotel Manning in Keosauqua I had a couple of hours to bird Lacey-Keosauqua State Park.  There was nothing particularly unusual but it's always fun to watch a pair of Scarlet Tanagers working the tops of the trees and to hear Louisiana Waterthrush along the stream.  It was also nice to hear several Wood Thrushes, a bird in trouble.  The best birding was at nearby Lake Seguma where some second-growth scrubby stuff help Orchard Oriole, at least two Blue Grosbeaks, and no fewer than three Yellow-breasted Chats.  I suspect there were a couple pair in there.  The photo's not great but it was as close as I could get.

Then it was back to the hotel for some peaceful river watching from the porch.

With thunderstorms overnight, it was bound to be a sloppy day but I headed for the Croton Unit of Shimek State Forest anyway.  I managed to find White-eyed Vireo and another pair of Yellow-breasted Chats before the rain just got too heavy to even have the window open.  I explored other units of Shimek and the sun even popped out before I left.  It was nice to get out.

Hmmmm... it is now Wednesday and I intend to be home by Friday but am still in Arizona.  It's time to drive!  Leaving Willcox about 8:30 I dead-head east to Deming, NM and catch the shortcut to Hatch.  It was tempting to stop and buy a bunch of Hatch chili peppers but what would I do with them all?  North through Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Raton.  The weather was great and I really enjoyed the drive through Raton Pass.  Prior to hitting the town I saw numerous pronghorns grazing in the grasslands.  Going through the mountains I was intrigued by all the signs warning of deer, elk, and bear but wasn't lucky enough to see any of these critters.  The New Mexico side of the pass is beautiful, but once one crosses into Colorado the scenery becomes spectacular.  There had obviously been a significant snowfall not so long ago.  It was getting dark by time I got to Colorado City (680 miles) so it was time to stop for the night.  This was the view from my motel.

The next morning it was off to Nebraska.  After getting through Colorado Springs and around Denver it was smooth sailing.  Once I reached Ogallala I took a short break and birded Lake Ogallala where the most significant bird was probably a Horned Grebe. There was also a good movement of primarily Snow Geese moving to the northwest.

Next stop was Sutherland Reservoir where the light was miserable and few birds outside of some geese and Mallards were identified.  Pushing further east, seeing a few cranes and large numbers of geese, I stopped for the night in Kearney,NE and spent the twilight hours watching Sandhill Cranes coming in from their feeding fields.  Another 500 miles under the belt.

The last stretch saw many flocks of geese flying overhead - mostly Snow Geese but also some Canadas.  The last stop was in Iowa and Lake Manawa SP.  Not all of the eagles have left yet.  This guy had a nice fish for lunch.

Home in time to pick up the mail and another adventure comes to a close.